A Bangladeshi man experienced his worst ever holiday in life after he was allegedly mauled by a dog while in London last month.
Businessman Md Mahbubar Rashid Jewel, 52, said that following the attack he couldn’t sleep because of the pain. The Asian man also lost £700 on flights and £5,000 on medical bills.
Jewel was leaving a family dinner on September 29 with his nephew Rahat Harjary, 24, when the dog from a garden in Stepney Green attacked his leg and foot, according to a report in MyLondon. Doctors at the Royal London Hospital said that the wounds could take months to heal.
According to Harjary, the dog was with its owner in the garden when he was getting into the car. He claimed the dog bolted from the garden and attacked his uncle in leg and foot.
“I saw the dog running towards us from seven to eight metres. I thought my uncle got in the car but he did not listen, he was trying to understand what the owner said. The dog attacked my uncle from behind. [The owner] said to my uncle: ‘Jump over the railing’ while the dog was biting his leg and feet,” he was quoted as saying by MyLondon.
When he started the car and ‘slammed into the dog’ it ran away. Harjary then called police and an ambulance as blood poured from Jewel’s foot.
“I closed my door but the dog tried to jump through the window, then as the police came the owner ran away with the dog. The dog was killing him. I had never faced this situation before. I feel so bad for my uncle and my family, he was supposed to go to visit Scotland and move to Australia.”
The Asian businessman needed an emergency surgery following the tragedy.
Jewel said that no one came for help when he was screaming with pain.
Though A&E services are exempt from charges for overseas visitors, people who are not ‘ordinarily residents’ needs to pay if they are admitted to hospital.
Jewel claims that it was a crime and wants to sue owner of the dog to recover the costs.
Dogs that are out of control in a public place are illegal under the Dangerous Dogs Act of 1991. In 2014, the act was amended to include private property as well.
Aggravated injury offences can result in a maximum of five years in prison, and a death can land a dog owner in jail for 14 years.
According to the Metropolitan Police, a 33-year-old man was arrested, but not in connection with a dog attack. Officers are still investigating the mauling, but the man was charged with two other crimes earlier that day. The dog was seized and is now in the custody of police officers.
